Don't Stop
by Yami-chan and Unrealistic
Summary: Ash travels with his oldest child to Professor Oak's lab so she can receive her first pokemon. While their time in Pallet Town doesn't go without incident, he does take a few steps to increase the odds of her having a (relatively) safe journey as a rookie trainer ... in ways that literally only Ash Ketchum can. One-shot. UR


I am not making any money from this, just my little contribution to the fandom for the 20th anniversary.

 **Author's Prelude** : Why a next generation story? I have been watching this show off and on since it first aired. Now that I'm older, it certainly feels like a new generation with all the throwback stuff they've been pushing out. Ash has always been endearing to me...slightly idiotic at times…a lot of times… but lovable all the same. I'm convinced he would make a good dad, regardless of partner. With that all in mind, this is what I came up with. Many things were added with the purpose of making it a longer story, but it works just as well as a stand alone for now. I had a coworker proofread it for me and he liked it, so I figured it was worth sharing. Hopefully someone else gets a kick out of it.

XXXXX

"Did you decide yet, Skye?"

Ash Ketchum looked down at his young travel companion for her response as they walked casually along the dirt road. It was at least the tenth time he'd asked her the question since they had set off from Cerulean City days earlier. He didn't feel particularly starved for conversation, but the question was the reason behind their short journey and he was incredibly eager to hear her answer.

The girl twirled her raven colored hair out of nervous habit. After so many years of doing so the short ponytail hung over her shoulder naturally. "I dunno, Dad." she confessed, making a point to not look his way. "I had it all figured out before we left home, but now I'm second guessing myself. What if I pick the wrong one?"

The anxiety in Skye's voice caused Ash to rub the back of his head, his own nervous habit. Sagely advice was not really his strong suit. Fatherhood had gradually allowed him to gain some semblance of it over the years, but thankfully on the subject of pokemon – his daughter's first pokemon – he was ready without hesitation.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, I couldn't decide until that morning and it worked out!" He exclaimed with a laugh, remembering the flurry of the day in question. He then gave her a confident smile. "Any of them will be the perfect partner for you. There is no way you can go wrong."

His daughter gave him a look of exasperation, yet couldn't help but smile fondly. "You woke up late and got Pikachu." To her, the story was as familiar as knowing her own birthday.

"Just proves my point, doesn't it?"

Hearing his name, the electric mouse roused himself from the top of Ash's backpack, where he'd been half asleep. Jumping over to Skye's shoulder he gave her a friendly rub cheek to cheek before starting to lick her face.

"Careful Pikachu, that tickles!" She laughed. "Although if I had the option to have a pikachu half as cool as you, I'd take it in a heartbeat." Pikachu melted like butter on her shoulder at the praise as she scratched under his chin.

Ash smiled warmly at the scene, knowing the two had been great friends since Skye had been a baby. The sight of the two of them getting along so well, or his kids with any of his pokemon for that matter, always managed to well up a sense of pride in his heart.

Looking ahead, Ash squinted and grinned broadly, stopping to point. "Looks like we're nearly there. I think I can make out the windmill in the distance." Turning to his daughter and pokemon partner he smirked. "Race you there?"

Pikachu jumped down on the dirt road to stretch. He was fully expecting to race and leave his trainer in the dust.

Skye stopped as well, but didn't seem as thrilled about the race. She folded her arms in scolding, a mannerism picked up from her mother. "I know you're more excited about this than I am somehow, but we should probably check on the egg one more time."

Yes, the egg. The Ketchum family of four had been on vacation in Alola together hardly a month prior, the idea being to enjoy some time as a family before Skye started her journey. Pikachu had gone with, but spent a lot of his time out and about on his own, hanging out with several of the wild pokemon he'd befriended years earlier during the duo's first visit to the region.

It had been a surprise to Ash at least, when his partner had rolled the egg into the hotel lobby right as they were leaving. The trainer had wanted to see if he could find who it belonged to. Misty, always able to read the romantic heart and Pikachu's pleading eyes, had to convince her still remarkably clueless husband that they should take the egg home with them.

While the Cerulean City Gym had plenty of pokemon around all the time, it was soon decided they'd take the egg to Pallet Town. There, the pokemon on the Oak Ranch would give it a more active and natural environment to hatch into.

Ash complied and set his backpack down on the road. He carefully took out the egg from its incubation tube and set it on the ground. He smiled contently. "It looks fine, even wiggling a bit now. It was excited to travel with us, I bet."

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu agreed, nuzzling against the egg affectionately.

Skye nodded in agreement. "Pikachu sure has been protective of that egg. I don't think I've ever seen him let it out of his sight."

Ash shrugged it off as he put the egg back into his backpack, then the bag onto his shoulders. "Pikachu is protective of all the younger pokemon. He and Bulbasaur keep everyone in line, right Buddy?"

"Pi…...kachu." The electric-type dropped his head comically. Skye could have sworn there was exasperation to her father's best friend.

"Dad, its Pikachu's egg." She finally blurted, thinking he was trying to shield her young mind from the truth. "I'm old enough to get what happened."

"Oh." Ash said simply, almost disappointed. "I knew that."

Skye blinked, almost unbelieving what she was detecting. "Wait, no you didn't."

Ash thought quickly. There were times such as this where he could almost envision the girl in front of him turning into her mother. It was especially frightening for him when she was his spitting image.

To avoid the awkward conversation that was about to happen, he changed the subject as fast as possible. "We're nearly there, I'm pretty sure that's the lab!" He said, pointing nowhere in particular before beginning to walk ahead.

Skye chose not to pursue her line of thinking, instead taking a good look around and realizing how close they really were. The expansive ranch was clearly just to their right along the road, but they still had a long way to go to reach the lab. It made her realize the time was nearly upon her and it once again made her anxious.

"I don't have to pick right when we get there right?" She said, sucking in a deep breath and falling in step with her father. "You and the Professor have some things to do right?"

"Um, right." Ash thought carefully, trying to remember everything he planned on doing. "I want to go visit all my pokemon that are still here and Gary wants to do something science-y with my old pokedex." He paused, then gave her a bright smile. "I'll bet talking with Sam for a while will help clear your mind a bit."

Skye was clearly pleased with that answer. "Great!" She said, pounding her fist into the air.

"We can't wait too long though." Ash reminded her. "Your grandmother is expecting us for supper. It would be really bad if we're too late for that." He shivered, thinking about what his mother's Mr. Mime would do if they were, in fact, late. The psychic type could be a real terror when it came to these sorts of things.

His daughter waved him off. "Don't worry. Grandma can still set the table like we planned. I'm gonna run on ahead and see if I can find Sam. I'll bet she's out in the fields doing chores somewhere."

"No need, I'm right here!"

Two generations of Ketchum turned to their right to see the speaker. The girl, Samantha, was named after her great-grandfather and rarely used all three of the syllables. Her long brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail for convenience. She waved vigorously with a big grin on her face as she bounded over to them.

"Sam!" Skye waved back excitedly and met her at the fence. "How have you been?!"

Despite the obvious filthy condition Sam's work clothes were in, the two girls shared a hug. Speaking by vid-phone paled in comparison to seeing your best friend in the flesh.

Sam shrugged off the question after the hug. "Ah, you know. Same old same old. I took Gramps up on doing the chores in the field for today. Dad is stressing about tomorrow and I needed to get out of the lab. He's practically radiating crazy at this point." She exaggerated with a roll of the eyes.

Ash chuckled a bit. "Gary Oak gone crazy? That's something I never thought I'd see."

Sam gave him a sharp half-wave accompanied by the family grin. "Heya Mister K! That's why I'm trying to get as much done out here in advance as I can. After all, he's gonna have all this work to do by himself after I leave tomorrow."

Skye smiled widely. "So you're still coming with me?"

Sam tched. "Well yeah. We've only been planning this for how many years now? I'm not gonna be the one to go and spoil it." She said, waving a finger and disapproving that her friend had ever questioned said plans.

Skye blushed in embarrassment. "I was a bit worried. I mean, I've always felt a little guilty that you could have started your journey nearly three years ago…"

Sam interrupted. "Don't say any more. It isn't as if I'm planning to challenge the league like you. There is no one else I'd rather travel with. Besides, don't forget your end of the bargain. I waited, so you're going to be the first person Eevee and I battle."

Pikachu had long since jumped over the fence to greet Eevee. The two of them were currently engaged in a game of Swift-Thundershock tag, a personal favorite of the aggressive little quadruped. It usually took all of Ash's small pool of self restraint not to turn it into a proper battle. That was going to be his daughter's job soon.

"Yes, yes. I remember and I still promise." Skye assured her friend. "You're going to have to give me and my partner some time to practice though. You've had a lot of time to bond with Eevee and I've had, like, zero."

"Have you decided which one yet?" After a pause and no answer she tried again. "Alright, keep your secret. How did your soccer tournament go then? I haven't had the chance to read up on it."

Skye folded her arms and huffed before giving a half-hearted smile. "We lost the tournament. Made it all the way to the final. We got beat by Goldenrod."

Sam snorted. "A bunch of stuck up snobs." She decided.

"But you did make it to the final." Ash consoled. "There were a lot of tough teams this year, and you girls stuck together through some pretty rough times the past two years." He knew all too well how she felt about the situation, having plenty of his own close losses at pokemon league tournaments over the years.

"You'll have plenty of time to find new things to keep your mind off it." Sam said, jumping up to sit on the fence and swinging her legs back and forth. "I'm super pumped to see some of those crazy moves while we're on the road." She continued, pointing to the net trainer that contained a soccer ball hanging from Skye's backpack.

Skye blushed in embarrassment at the praise. While her talent had gotten her picked for the Cerulean City Under-13 team two years in a row, it had delayed the start of her pokemon journey. It was something her pokemon trainer parents initially had a difficult time wrapping their heads around. In the end the decision had been easy. Her heart was with the game and her parents knew a thing or two about following dreams.

Sam had made up her mind long ago that she'd make her first loop around Kanto with her best friend. Besides that, research and field study were going to be her focus. It wasn't as if she didn't already have two experts in the family to learn from at home.

Now the girls, both at different stages of twelve years old, were finally about to leave.

"And remember," Ash pointed out, "don't forget about soccer even though you're going to be a pokemon trainer. I had a friend from Johto who used baseball for training. Also, there is boccer."

Skye made a face. "It's just the pokemon who play that. I want to play."

"It isn't much different than playing midfield you know. You're like a general directing play." Sam said, using her hands to pretend she was moving game pieces around. "It's really not too different than being a regular pokemon trainer actually."

Sensing the direction of conversation was beginning to go in circles, Ash stepped in. "Why don't you two go check and see how your oran berry tree is doing. I'm going to chat with Gary at the lab for a bit. When you're ready to pick Skye, I'll be there."

"Right-o Mister K." Sam half saluted. "Don't worry, I'll get her all sorted out. Before you know it she'll have your symbol!" She paused, thinking. "You are still doing that right? Gramps said that Annabel was back from Johto."

Ash protested in double time. "I can hand out /any/ of the Battle Frontier Symbols. That's the point of having a substitute. It is a legitimate and important job!" He said a little unnecessarily and a bit rehearsed. He then gulped. "And its Indigo League first if anything. Misty will kill me if the order gets changed."

Shortly before Skye had been born, Scott's not so subtle pleas for Ash to join his private challenge succeeded. The Battle Frontier had grown over the years, now having a presence in most regions. Most of the Frontier Brains had hobbies and needed leaves of absence from time to time, so Ash, not wanting to completely give up his roaming freedoms, would be a traveling substitute.

Even if he wasn't filling in, the others would be gracious and regularly send trainers Ash's way regardless if they won or not. Ash was happy to get plenty of awesome battles, often taking place in the nearby Cerulean Cave – he had needed a place large and remote enough of his own because Brandon refused to hand over the controls to the Battle Pyramid. Misty was pleased he could stick around Cerulean City to be with the kids and not bother her own challengers … too often.

And yes, Misty would likely kill him if she didn't get a formal challenge from their firstborn before him.

"Yes." Skye said finally. "League challenge first, I'd already decided that. But Pewter City is on the way. Just...tell Mom I needed a warm up." She shrugged helplessly.

"I'll have your brother cover for me." Ash confirmed with a nod.

Skye's brother, Kelvin, had decided well before turning eight there was no circumstance in which he would fail to become the Cerulean City Gym leader when he was older. He would go on his journey and beat everyone with water pokemon only. As such, he could really do no wrong in Misty's eyes.

"Let's go check up on our tree, Skye." Sam interjected. "I think you'll be surprised how much it has grown since you were last here."

Skye was on board with the idea, jumping the fence. The two girls and Eevee raced off across the field giggling on about their latest inside joke.

Ash adjusted his cap as Pikachu climbed back up onto his shoulder, snuggling on the fabric of the dark blue sport-coat.

"Well Buddy, let's go see Gary and Professor Oak. I'll bet the lab is as busy as ever."

XXXXX

The lab was as messy as ever and Gary was something of a wreck.

"I can't do this. There are still plenty of chores that will have to be done tomorrow. Professor Banyan is arriving to finish the edits on our paper. Sam is leaving on her journey. Celeste is also leaving tomorrow to help her father with the harvest festival…."

"Err…." Ash fidgeted nervously on the couch as he set his cup of tea down. He had been politely watching his one-time rival pace the floor and rant for the last ten minutes. Pikachu sat next to him, trying to figure out how accurate Sam's 'crazy' description of Gary really was. "Celeste hasn't left yet?"

Gary's wife was an exceptional lady. Calm and collected at all times, always courteous and proper with a seemingly endless supply of wisdom and warmth. Most people got along with her just fine. Misty and the kids adored her.

Unfortunately for Ash, he was the only one ever on the receiving end of her unique brand of creepiness.

"Greetings, Chosen One." Came a soft, knowing voice from behind him. "It is good to see you back in Pallet."

Ash yelped and jumped abnormally high into the air from his sitting position before laughing and rubbing the back of his head. Pikachu allowed the chills to subside from the spook, eyes still a bit wide. "Hi Celeste. You can um, call me Ash, remember?"

Celeste smiled warmly, her long white hair flowing freely in a way that should not have been physically possible. "Of course, Ash. My bad."

Gary had met Celeste while on an archaeological dig in Sinnoh during his tenure as Professor Rowen's assistant. She was the daughter of a local village elder and was extremely knowledgeable on the oral traditions of her people as well as legends around the world. With Gary's rapt interest in all things ancient history, pokemon and otherwise, a romance had easily bloomed.

As Ash had discovered by the wedding, she had a near supernatural quality to her. He swore she could read his mind sometimes.

His suspicions had deepened with every visit. She would often enrapture the kids with the telling of any number of legends from far off regions. Once upon a time, Ash would have been right there with the kids – and Gary – listening. He soon found he knew all of them. Most of which he literally had a hand in. It was almost as if she knew it too.

Gary didn't seem to notice the awkward hellos, as was typical of the situation. He was still pacing and muttering about the upcoming day.

"Gary, I'm sure everything will be fine. You know I'll help out with the chores tomorrow before I leave and knowing Professor Banyan, he probably has most of the edits completed." Even as Celeste spoke, Gary seemed to calm down. Her voice and demeanor tended to have that effect on people.

Gary left out a held breath. "You're right. Sorry, Ash, you're going through the same thing tomorrow."

Ash waved it off. "It's no big deal, I mean, Sam is your only kid after all so it's a little different. Even so, I'm glad they're going with each other. Misty loves to remind me how clueless I was my first few years out." He said with a forced laugh.

Gary nodded, understanding the sentiment and in his worry forgetting to further tease his friend. "They'll keep each other out of trouble." He said, mostly trying to convince himself. He was still a bit concerned they'd put each other into trouble.

Just as the atmosphere had reached a relaxed state, the back door to the lab slammed open and two bodies piled in, shutting the door quickly behind them.

"Don't go out there." An unfamiliar teenage boy gasped. "There is something weird going on with the tauros."

"Ow...my spine…." Samuel Oak had never been the most spry for as long as Ash had known him and he certainly wasn't getting any younger.

"Hold on Professor, let me help you up." The teenager with messy magenta hair did so, using nearly all of his strength to do so. He succeeded when Gary and Celeste arrived to help.

As Celeste inquired of her in-law if he was alright, Ash quickly and vaguely remembered the teenager's name was Billy. His rival turned researcher had mentioned the new summer help in passing in the last vid-phone call. The trainer had more pressing concerns at the moment to think much more on it.

"The girls." He said, standing up quickly. "They were headed for their oran berry tree." Before anyone could speak another word Ash was out the door, Pikachu close on his heels.

"H-hey! We haven't covered up the new irrigation system! You'll fall in!" With surprising speed, Billy was the next to go back outside.

"You're going to need some help-" Gary was about to follow them, but his wife put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"They'll be fine, Gary. You know what kind of trainer Ash is." Celeste said with more ambiguity than should have been possible. "Billy isn't too bad himself. Let's help your grandfather."

Gary realized she was indeed right. "I've been caught up in too much of a frenzy today I can't think straight. You're right, as usual." He paused. "Don't tell Ash that."

She smiled. "Your secret is safe with me, Love."

"That's no normal stampede out there." The elder Oak groaned. "But seeing as how most of those tauros are Ash's, I am fairly confident he'll be fine."

XXXXX

"Vulpix, quick, freeze the water and make a path!" Out of the thrown pokeball an Alolan vulpix appeared. She hadn't even landed before shooting ice shards at the waterway in front of the surprisingly fast Ash.

Pikachu didn't skip a beat over the newly formed ice and Ash only had to regain footing for half a second before bounding off again towards the tree.

Billy sighed in relief as he caught up. "All that work for the last month saved and no drowning Frontier Brains. Thanks, Vulpix."

Vulpix replied with a very vulpix 'you're welcome' before she was returned to her pokeball.

"Guess I'm already out here, might as well see if I can help clean up the situation." The young trainer started off again, doing his best to keep up.

XXXXX

"Its Squirtle, isn't it?" Sam pressed. "I know your mom has been planting that idea in your head since you were born."

Skye gave her friend a roll of the eyes as she gave Eevee a scratch behind the ear. "You don't know that. I told you, you'll find out like everyone else when we get to the lab."

Sam sighed as she leaned back against the oran berry tree, hands relaxing behind her head. "I think I know which one you'll pick, but okay, I'll play your waiting game and be patient."

"You're lucky to have Eevee. You didn't have to pick."

"That's not entirely true." Sam admitted, Eevee now crawling into her lap lovingly. "I wouldn't trade having Eevee for anything, but seeing all those newbie trainers come through the lab sometimes I get a little jealous. It's just kinda the..." She waved her arm in a circling motion, as if it would help her find the right word to use "...specialness of the occasion, you know." She then grinned wildly. "Eevee and I are gonna make up for it with his evolution though."

"Of course you would." Skye said. "You've always been on top of things. You two probably know exactly what evolution he'll take."

"Actually, quite the opposite." Sam corrected. "We're gonna let it be a surprise. If Eevee hasn't evolved naturally after a year or so, we're gonna put all the evolution stones, including an Everstone, in a bag and Eevee is gonna pick it out blind."

Skye's eyes went bug-eyed. "I get the waiting naturally part, but you're really going to trust something like that to chance?!"

Sam and Eevee shared a cocky grin. "Its how we roll. Whatever it ends up being, it'll be for the best."

"That's so you." Skye shook her head in disbelief. "I don't think I could do that. I get somewhat nervous when my parents' pokemon decide to evolve, I can hardly think about my own."

"Which you will have very soon. And after that you can catch pokemon that don't have an evolution. Then you don't have to worry about it."

"Like tauros!"

"Exactly, like tauros!"

"No!" Skye yelped as she stood up. "Tauros!" She pointed.

Sam saw now. Tauros chasing each other were getting dangerously close to where they'd been talking.

"Well...mating season came a bit early this year." She said, oddly calm with a hint of skepticism

Skye grabbed her by the wrist. "We need to get to the lab, now! Before we get bulldozed!"

Sam didn't have to be told twice and for all of Eevee's bravado, he didn't fancy fighting fifty odd Tauros at once.

They could only outrun them so far. Tauros were generally faster than humans so it didn't take long before the girls were nearly part of the stampede.

"Okay, no point in running anymore. Eevee, give 'em the biggest, widest Swift you've got!" Sam ordered.

Eevee obliged, turning on a dime to do so, but it wasn't nearly enough as the star-shaped attack only managed to fray the fur off several of the tauros.

"We're going to die before we even leave Pallet Town." Skye fretted. "And I can't even do anything."

She didn't have to worry long.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The attack was intense. Neither girl had ever seen an electric attack as big or as powerful as what Pikachu was currently putting out. The tauros were officially spooked as the attack landed in front of them and promptly ran off in the opposite direction.

Ash caught up to them soon, not even out of breath. "Are you two okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Dad!" Skye gave him a big, desperate hug. "We're fine."

Ash sighed with relief as he returned the gesture. "Thank goodness." He looked up. "Thank you too, Pikachu. That was amazing, as always."

Pikachu beamed and chaa-ed happily.

Sam looked more concerned than relieved. "That was weird. It's late summer. We're almost half a year off from the next mating season unless a century of tauros study is suddenly turned on its head."

"Most of those tauros are mine, they're never like this unless something really spooks them." Ash was no researcher, but he knew his own pokemon. His eyes narrowed in thought. "I'm going to find out why, you two should go back to the lab."

"I want to figure out what is going on too. I'm coming." Sam said with authority. "Besides, I know this place like the back of my hand."

Skye shrugged helplessly. "Maybe I'll finally get to see one of those crazy adventures you and Mom keep talking about."

Ash sighed, but he didn't push. "Stay close. Most of those weird adventures started out normally enough."

As they turned to head off further into the fields, a panting Billy finally reached the group. He fell to his knees, wheezing. "Is…everything….okay?" Was about all he could manage to say.

Sam smiled wickedly. "Well, well, look at what the meowth dragged in."

Billy glared and gasped for breath. "Don't use that phrase. I heard it more times than I care to remember growing up."

"Billy, right?" Skye asked. "Sam said you were working here for the summer. We haven't met. My name's Skye Ketchum." She said in a friendly manner.

The boy stood, showing his height just slightly taller than Sam. "Billy" He confirmed, with a small smile. "Just Billy. Its nice to finally meet the kid who will take little Miss Arbok here out of my hair." He quipped, pointing at Sam.

The girl's eyes narrowed. "'Little Miss Arbok'? Seriously?"

"You're always pretending to be my boss!" He defended. "Hissing around orders at me all the time."

"I am your boss!" She roared back.

"You are younger than me by at least a year, maybe two!" Billy sputtered out, making a point to count the number out on his fingers for emphasis. "We're still both kids!"

As Skye's eyes ping-ponged back and forth between the two, her father had found an old friend who had an interesting bit of news.

Bulbasaur was speaking to Pikachu while Ash knelt by the two, trying to interpret their conversation.

"Bulba bul bulbasaur." The grass-type explained, using his vines to point at a particularly thick grove of trees near the edge of the ranch.

Pikachu looked shocked and a little concerned. "Pi?!" Turning to Ash the electric-type gained some urgency and tugged at his trainer's jacket, indicating they should go in the direction Bulbasaur was showing them.

Ash nodded, getting the gist of it. "Yeah, I'd like to see what you found. Show the way, Bulbasaur." Standing, he turned to the kids. "Bulbasaur says he found something over there. I'm going to go check it out." Leaving the invitation open-ended, he followed after his two pokemon.

Sam and Billy were clearly not done with their conversation, but after a dirty look at the other they and Skye were on the heels of the senior trainer.

XXXXX

"I haven't been over to this area in a long time." Sam observed as she looked around the grove. Thick vegetation surrounded by tall trees made it a particularly nice place for bug pokemon of all kinds. Beedril were naturally territorial, so the humans rarely came by.

Billy was cautious as he looked around, also well aware of the dangers. "Something doesn't feel right."

Just a couple feet away, Skye was on her knees as she browsed through a berry bush. "I don't see anything over here." She looked up. "Dad, did you find anything?"

Ash was just within calling distance from the kids. He frowned for a moment as he gazed upon the sight Bulbasaur had led him to. He then took his hands out of his pockets and cleared some brush away. The sight made him sigh heavily, unsure if he should be worried or not.

"Pikachu, go ahead and give it a good Thunderbolt."

His partner was more than happy to deliver. As the three kids arrived, the only thing they could see was the charred remains of a very strange looking device.

"That's not one of ours." Sam said quickly.

"No, it's not. It's Team Rocket." Ash said simply. "I'd know that insignia anywhere."

Billy visibly paled from the back of the group at that, not that any of the others noticed.

"Is it from the three that followed you around?" Skye asked innocently enough.

Ash paused for a moment, scratching his cheek with the index finger in thought. He then shook his head. "Possible, but I doubt it. If it was them, I'm pretty sure we'd have heard from them by now."

Skye sighed dramatically. "I'm starting to think you were making the whole thing up. You seriously think a talking meowth is realistic?"

Her father stuttered incredulously. "Pikachu was there! They've shown up at the Gym before!"

"Yeah, when I'm off at soccer practice or school. I'll believe it when I see it." She said skeptically, arms crossed.

"Regardless, Team Rocket showing up at the ranch is no good thing. This is my home. I'm not going to stand for it." Sam said decisively. "I say bring 'em on." Eevee agreed, and put on a fighting stance.

Billy knelt down to examine the machine. "I'll bet this is the reason the tauros were so agitated. This machine is set to emit a wide range of sounds, not all of them for the human ear."

"I hate it when Team Rocket uses cool science for bad stuff." Ash grumbled.

"Really, Dad? 'Cool science for bad stuff?'"

"You're more and more like your mother every day." He said with a nervous laugh. "You guys bring this thing back to the lab. Gary will probably have a field day with it. I want to make sure the tauros are going to be okay now that thing is destroyed."

"I like that idea." Billy said a little eagerly. "Hopefully there are no more of them."

Sam begrudgingly agreed, but her eyes were full of determination. "Promise if you run into Team Rocket let us know Mister K. Me and Eevee want to help with the beat-down."

"If I'm in a battle with Team Rocket that takes more than five seconds, I guarantee you will hear it from the lab." Ash said with some exasperation. "I've been told I have a knack for destroying things."

"That's why Mom won't let you practice at the Gym anymore."

"That has more to do with someone not wanting to battle her." Ash said, pointedly looking at Pikachu, who had a bit of a death grip on Ash's shoulder. After all these years the small pokemon was not taking any chances to be snatched away.

"Not to interrupt, but I'd like to get out of the beedril territory and avoid any possible confrontation with the regional crime syndicate." Billy interrupted, nearly pleading.

"I guess they aren't here, no use sticking around." Sam said, almost disappointed. "Grandpa keeps the Jeep nearby, we can drive that back."

Solution in place, the group went their separate ways.

XXXXX

By the time Ash had the tauros calmed it was nearly dusk. He and Skye had a supper ready for them and Ash didn't feel like incurring his mother's - or more probably Mimey's - wrath for being too late.

They could not hold off any longer. It was time for Skye to choose her first pokemon, then the next dawn be off to Viridian City with Sam, Eevee, and no adults.

If Skye was still nervous she wasn't showing it much. Everyone was gathered around in the lab and the elder Professor Oak opened a console which contained three distinct pokeballs.

"I think you know what happens now, Skye." The professor said, a reflective tone in his voice. This was, after all, one of the favorite parts of his job. It was especially endearing to do so for two generations of the same family. "In these pokeballs are Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle." A pause. "And I promise all are there, none have been taken yet."

Ash shifted his eyes around and whistled. Celeste glanced between the older Oak and her husband's friend and although seemed slightly surprised, didn't say anything and smiled.

"So, which one would you have as a partner?"

Skye took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about this for a long time." She started. "I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I do know I want pokemon in it, just like Mom and Dad." She paused. "My hope is that traveling around as a trainer will help me find my own path."

She looked around to Professor Oak, then her father, and then over to Sam, who gave her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. She even went as far as to elbow Billy in the stomach so that he would do the same.

"For the short term...I'm going to try doing as well as I can at the Indigo League. That is hard enough as it is…" A competitive gaze graced her features. "But I want to give myself the greatest challenge I can think of." She picked up one of the pokeballs and there were some gasps of amazement while others gave knowing 'ahas'.

"Pewter City has a rock-type Gym. Cerulean City has a water-type Gym. Those are the first two in my path. So to make interesting, I choose you, Charmander!"

The fire-type pokemon emerged and gave the girl a questioning look. Despite the weight of the situation, having made her choice Skye felt at peace. She gave Charmander the best grin she could muster and knelt down.

"Hi Charmander. My name is Skye. You wanna come travel with me?"

It didn't take the young pokemon long to like that idea and gleefully give his new trainer a big hug.

Ash and Pikachu took a moment to share a smile, both reflecting on their own meeting, rocky as it was. The trainer was grateful that his daughter would have a far easier first day than they had. As far as he was concerned she'd handled the first meeting with her pokemon perfectly.

He couldn't have been more proud.

XXXXX

"Isn't he the most adorable thing I've ever seen!"

Bless her heart Delia Ketchum could never find anything bad to say about anyone or any pokemon. Certainly not her granddaughter's new charmander.

"The dishes go in this cabinet, right Delia?"

"That's right Celeste. Second to the left. You shouldn't be cleaning though! You're a guest!"

She also didn't know how to cook for anything other than a small army. She'd been waiting for her son and granddaughter at the front door and had immediately gone on about how she and Mimey had prepared too much food for just three people. Ash was very familiar with the routine and without a word had walked right back to the lab to collect the Oaks.

In the end, the entire group from that afternoon was gathered and was currently enjoying some after meal refreshments at the Ketchum residence.

Ash had finally been relieved of clean up duty and began to search for where Pikachu had gone off to. Delia might not have wanted her guests to clean up, but she had no qualms about making her adult son do so. Pikachu likewise had no problems ditching his best friend for this particular task.

His mother and daughter were in the living room with most of the others, fawning over Charmander. Eevee was making introductions and the two looked excited to be traveling together. Not seeing Pikachu with them, Ash headed out to the backyard to look.

As he opened the back door the faint sound of music fell on his ears. The tune itself was eerily familiar to the trainer, but had been a long, long time since he'd last heard it. It wasn't the right instrument, but it was hard to forget the background music for his first flight on the back of a legendary pokemon.

Ocarina or not, it didn't take long to figure out where the melody was coming from. The calming notes had Pikachu in contentment along with several other pokemon. Ash recognized the Alolan variety vulpix that had helped earlier in the day as one of them, snuggled up next to a snoozing houndour.

The young lab assistant Billy was picking lightly on a guitar, back facing the house and seemed lost in thought. Ash felt a bit cruel cutting off the scene, but he was of the opinion that no one should be left out alone.

"That's a really awesome song there."

The boy struck a sour chord in surprise as he tried not to drop the instrument. Pikachu merrily jumped to Ash's side as the other pokemon looked on.

"Um, thanks." The boy said cautiously. "Mom and Dad used to hum it to me when I was little. It's the first thing I play if I just need to relax." He shrugged helplessly. "I didn't even hear you coming."

Ash took a seat next to him. "I'm used to being quiet. Can't wake up the whole pokemon center if you're hungry in the middle of the night."

Billy half laughed. "I suppose not. I guess I'm just used to having pretty good hearing. Or at least I thought."

They sat in silence for nearly a minute. Thankfully Ash was the king at relieving awkward moments. He had a sure-fire strategy.

"Are those your pokemon?" He asked, looking down at what he could now see as a trapinch as well as the vulpix and houndour. "Vulpix was some awesome help today, I never got to thank you for making sure Pikachu and I didn't fall in the water. That would have been a slight disaster, and really embarrassing." He finished with a nervous laugh.

It seemed to have worked its charm. Billy was clearly proud of them. "Houndour was my first pokemon. We've been together since I was ten." He reflected fondly. "Trapinch I found literally eating our vacation house in Hoenn and Vulpix…." He seemed hesitant to come forth with an explanation. "I err… I've never been to Alola. I found her captured by thieves here in Kanto. She kinda took a shine to Houndour and now I can't separate them."

Ash nodded in understanding, totally used to the idea of kids rescuing pokemon from bad adults. "I'll bet you've been to a lot of places with them."

"Not really." Billy admitted. "To be honest, I've been trying to get away from home just lately. My parents have been driving me more insane than usual. The Professor needed extra help this summer and so far it has been the perfect hiding place."

"Have you liked it? Maybe you'll get into the research business like Sam."

The boy's face scrunched up in dislike. "The last thing I want is to be in the same field as that crazy girl. All I want to do is play music and hang out with my pokemon. Anything else is just a means to do those two things."

Ash chuckled. "That's not a bad dream at all. I've heard much worse, trust me. I'm positive it's totally doable."

Billy went quiet for a moment and Ash was worried that he was going to have to dig deep for another ice-breaker. Thankfully the boy was willing to go on after a long, thoughtful stare at the older trainer. "Being a trainer was a bit of an accident actually. I don't regret it in the least though. These guys have kept me sane over the years."

He paused, debating if he should continue. After a deep breath, he did. "I used to think all pokemon were crazy. Literally insane."

Ash and Pikachu shared a look. Pikachu sniffed the air and gained a glint in his eyes. Ash had a suspicion that his friend knew something he didn't. "I guess I have to ask why." He stated more than asked.

Billy paused again, clearly having an incredible internal debate. The boy realized though, that he had already baited himself into telling his full story. "My parents talk about you all the time." He said reluctantly, bracing himself.

Ash blinked. He was pretty sure he didn't know Billy's parents. "Fans?" He asked hopefully. He had gained some fame over his career, competing in many of the world's tournaments and some more than once. It wasn't completely unreasonable he would have inspired some people. He loved stroking his ego in any case, especially with Misty not there to keep it in check.

Billy blushed. "Um...no …. not exactly. They're always going on about this super overpowered pikachu." He narrowed his eyes in reminiscence. "I'm pretty sure it is an obsession. Thankfully I was able to watch a lot of your league matches on rerun. I'm at least convinced you're just a really good trainer and your pokemon are all pretty normal." He sighed in resignation and braced for rejection. "More normal than Meowth and Wobbuffet anyway."

It then dawned on Ash that he did know the boy's parents. It explained how Billy could know Lugia's song without traveling and why the boy had seemed familiar without ever having met him.

Pikachu climbed beneath Ash's shirt. The two of them fully expected Team Rocket to jump out of the bushes any second now.

"Don't worry, they aren't here." Billy assured them. "They're running a designer clothing store for pokemon these days as a front, mainly geared towards coordinators. It's in Saffron City if you ever wanted to avoid it."

Ash and Pikachu sighed with relief.

"So, they aren't behind the tauros stampede today." Ash concluded. "You wouldn't happen to know anything more about it, would you?"

Billy shook his head. "Not a clue. I ran off during the agent field training they stuck me in. Took Vulpix with me and I haven't looked back since. So, um, next time you see Mom, Dad, and Meowth, just stay mum on the whole knowing where I am thing."

Ash wasn't sure he liked the inevitability with which Billy spoke of the meeting, but he wasn't surprised either as he did see them with some regularity still. "I'll keep your secret." He promised.

The boy was clearly relieved, a weight off his shoulders lifted.

"Pikapi, pikachu pika." Pikachu tugged on Ash's jacket for attention and then pointed to the trainer's backpack.

Ash understood and looked back and forth between his best friend and the unfortunate boy beside him. "Are you sure Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded. "Pika chupika."

Ash grinned. Pikachu had always been an excellent judge of character.

The two of them were also never above having a bit of petty revenge.

"Billy." Ash started. "I think it would be a good idea for you to travel some. You know, just for fun. I'll bet the girls would be happy to have you. You seemed to get along with them pretty well this afternoon."

Billy stared incredulously. "I just told you that I'm the son of the guys who stalked you across the world and to this day try and take Pikachu from you. After all that you're asking me to travel with your daughter?"

"Well, you really don't seem like you have any interest in following in their footsteps. So whether you go or not, Pikachu and I have something we'd like to give to you." Ash was satisfied he had at least planted the idea in the boy's head.

Billy was skeptical. "You? Have something for me?"

Ash reached into his backpack and pulled out the egg from its protective tube. "We brought it to the ranch to be around the pokemon outside, but I think it would do better with you."

Billy took the egg gingerly. The look on his face was uncertain. "I've barely scraped through as a trainer, I'm not sure I can take care of a baby pokemon." He paused. "You know my parents would flip if they knew about this."

"Pokemon eggs are tougher than you think, and this one is special." He paused, then decided to at least impart some adult advice. "And if I know your parents as well as I think I do, I'm sure they're worried about you. Even if you don't tell them where you are, I'm sure they would appreciate knowing you're safe, so promise me to give them a call when the egg hatches, okay?" Ash then produced the biggest grin. "And tell them it was from Pikachu and I."

He only wished he could somehow be witness to that eventual conversation.

Billy looked down at the egg. His other pokemon were doing the same. Vulpix seemed particularly eager and began talking excitedly with the unimpressed looking Houndour. Trapinch sniffed at the air, but lazily remained asleep. The boy couldn't help but smile. "I guess the decision is made for me. I'll take good care of it."

Ash nodded, satisfied. "I'm sure you will."

"Hey, Ash!"

The two turned around to see Gary holding the door open.

"I just wanted to give you the heads up your mother is bringing out the photo albums."

Ash nearly swore as he stood up quickly and rushed into the house, Pikachu close on his heels.

Gary turned to his assistant. "You know you can join the rest of us in here. No one bites...except for maybe Eevee."

Billy shook his head. "Thanks Professor, but I think I'll stay out here a bit longer. I've got an egg to bond with now."

"Suit yourself. There's cake in the kitchen. We'll probably head back to the lab in about an hour."

"Got it." Billy said automatically as he made a makeshift bed for the egg in his guitar case.

Gary observed him with some interest. "You know, Ketchum is right. As much as I enjoy your help, getting out there would be helpful too. You could do a lot of field research for Grandpa."

"It would take some pretty extreme circumstances to get me to leave Pallet. I like it here. It's quiet and nothing weird happens." Billy said, and he meant it.

The young professor rolled his eyes. "Kids these days. When I was your age we all wanted to travel." Shaking his head he went back inside to help Ash with damage control.

Billy picked his guitar back up and plucked a few notes. All of a sudden playing alone just made him feel a bit more empty, opposite of how it usually made him feel. He looked towards his two awake pokemon. "Well, what do you guys think? You've known Sam and Eevee for a while at least."

Vulpix seemed to like the idea and ran around in a few circles in excitement. Houndour didn't seem to care much and gave his trainer a few licks to the face. The message was clear. He'd go wherever Billy did.

Billy smiled and gave them both a good scratch. "I guess being on the road would make it less likely Team Rocket would find us. Maybe we'll see what tomorrow brings."

XXXXX

Skye sighed as she turned over in bed for what felt like the hundredth time. She was used to sleeping in her father's old room during visits to Pallet Town, but there was something about tonight that made her feel restless. She wasn't sure if it was the night before her journey, or the sleeping pokemon at her feet.

An unfamiliar feeling welled up in her chest. Seeing Charmander in peaceful slumber and realizing that she was his trainer was thrilling. It wasn't like spending time with her parent's pokemon. She was going to be sharing things with Charmander and creating a bond on par with what her father had with Pikachu. She hoped. It was untrod territory for the both of them. That was what the journey was for.

Looking at one of three clocks in the room, it blinked an annoying red 5:00 AM. Skye decided she wasn't going to get any more sleep that morning. It was the third time in the last half hour she'd looked at that clock.

She climbed out of bed carefully, trying not to wake Charmander. Despite being relatively quiet, it didn't work. The small fire-type seemed to already be in tune with his trainer. He gave a giant yawn and peeked over the side of the bunk bed. His trainer was already getting dressed. He cocked his head to the side, blinking tiredly. "Char?"

Skye smiled in apology. "Sorry, Charmander. I just can't sleep any more. I think I'm going to go to Professor Oak's early to get my pokedex. You can stay in your pokeball if you want to sleep some more."

Charmander nodded and Skye used the device to return the lizard pokemon. Tucking his pokeball securely on her belt, she finished getting ready by putting on a sleeveless yellow hoodie over a blue T-shirt.

Sliding a fresh looking backpack on, she took one last look around the room. Her eyes eventually fell upon the shelves that held her father's old trophies, pictures, and Gym badges. She smiled as she picked up a few, taking extra time on the Kanto region.

"Top 16 huh?" She pondered, looking over the plaque Ash had received at his first Indigo Conference. She then smirked. "Well, a goal is a goal. Top 8 and I'll have bragging rights for the rest of my life."

At that she left the room, quietly closing the door. Today, the adventure began.

XXXXX

The light buzzing sound had been driving Sam crazy for the past hour. She was not pleased that Eevee seemed to be sleeping right through it.

Grumbling and sitting up, she was also not happy to see the clock showing the time of 5:30 AM. For the third time in the last half hour she fell backwards, head landing on her pillow.

The noise continued and her bloodshot eyes flew back open. Grinding her teeth in anger she threw the blankets off and proceeded to climb out of bed.

This did finally wake Eevee up, now covered completely by the bed sheets. He moved like a zombie out from under them to observe his trainer getting dressed.

Already wearing a dark purple dress, she was struggling to get her black leggings on. On the floor and groaning, she sighed and apologized to Eevee. "You've got to be hearing that noise right?"

Eevee's ears twitched, then nodded.

Sam slid her feet into some tall, brown travel boots. She grabbed the messenger bag that had been carefully packed the night before and tossed it over her shoulder. The last items to go inside was a sketchbook and a packet of mechanical pencils.

"Okay Eevee, let's go see what that noise is." She said, returning the small pokemon and placing the pokeball on a thick brown belt around her waist. "Maybe then everyone else can continue having a good sleep…."

XXXXX

Billy had been sleeping pretty peacefully up until he heard the door to Sam's room close.

Rolling over to see his clock blinking 5:35 AM he forced a groan. It was only another ten minutes before his regular alarm would go off. It was his predetermined day to get the early morning chores done around the ranch. He had planned to do them regardless of leaving with the girls or not.

Turning off the alarm, he rolled out of bed to get dressed. He soon finished putting on a black jacket over his red and white shirt in addition to his jeans. Not wanting to go anywhere without it, he put his new pokemon egg in his worn backpack, making sure it was surrounded by plenty of soft items. With that and his guitar securely on his back, he made his way down to the main lab.

With a yawn he encountered Sam nearly right away. She was looking around suspiciously. Noticing him, she asked his opinion on the matter. "Where do you think that sound is coming from?"

It was then he finally noticed the very discreet buzzing and raised an eyebrow. He supposed he hadn't realized it was abnormal, having grown up around all manner of strange machinery. He shrugged. "I'm sure your dad will take care of it when they wake up. It doesn't seem to be bothering them."

"It's not natural." She insisted. "I've lived here my whole life and never has any broken anything sounded like that."

Billy sighed, resigned to an early morning adventure. "Lead the way." He said, trudging after her.

The door behind them creaked open and Skye joined them in the living room. She blushed. "You guys couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"More like something weird is going on. Hear that buzzing? It's been driving us nuts for the last hour…."

"It's been driving you nuts." Billy corrected, yawning again. "I was sleeping just fine."

Sam huffed. "I think it's coming from the room with the pokeballs. Your pokedex is in there too, Skye, so we have another reason to go in there."

"Lets just find out what's broken, fix it, and get this over with." Billy decided, leading the group towards the main lab where Skye had received Charmander the day before. "I'm hungry and I'm sure the pokemon are too."

The three of them opened the door at the same time. Gazing at the scene in front of them, whatever sleepiness had been left in them was gone.

At least three members of Team Rocket were in the room. That was obvious by their black uniforms. If that hadn't given it away, the giant machine sucking up pokeballs was another clue. The vacuum was clearly the reason behind the annoying buzzing noise.

Billy froze in fear and Skye wasn't sure where to start. Luckily for them, Sam had a few choice words for the intruders.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing in Grandpa's lab?! I suppose you three are the ones responsible for the tauros acting up yesterday." She demanded, stepping forward.

The two clearly older Rocket agents smirked at the kids. They didn't seem concerned upon being discovered, just amused.

The woman playfully pushed aside one of her long golden pigtails. "If you ask us 'what do you think you're doing', you should prepare for trouble."

"And make that double – triple now!" A man responded in kind.

If the two of them had more to say, the third, and much younger, Rocket agent interrupted them with a delightful shriek.

"Someone shoot me now." Billy finally pleaded, eyes still a bit wide with terror.

"William!" The young girl with long golden hair squealed. "I have been looking everywhere for you! How amazing that I see you again on my first assignment with Mummy and Daddy!"

Sam blinked. "You know them?" She gaped, directing her inquiry to the boy in question.

"Unfortunately." Billy deadpanned, finally grounding himself to the sudden situation. "You two get out of here, I'll deal with this." He said, grabbing a pokeball from his belt.

"Oh no you are not." Sam said, putting her foot down right away. "This is my home. I'm not going to let some Rocket jerks walk in like they own the place and steal everything."

"Oh isn't this an adorable sight. Not only do we get to deal with Jessie's runaway brat, but the Oak kid will be extremely helpful in cracking the password to the computer. This worked out way better than the tauros distraction failure." The older Rocket female crowed.

"Cassidy, this isn't in your best interest. Leave the girls and the pokemon alone." Billy said evenly.

"Urgh! Stop defending them like that!" The younger Rocket girl whined. "You are my partner. You're supposed to be protecting me!"

"I am not your partner, Sunnie. I quit before graduation. I was never ever part of Team Rocket in the first place." He said with a large amount of annoyance. "I've only explained this to you at least ten times."

Sunnie looked as if she was about to throw a temper tantrum. "No! It's not fair!" Her face turned dark and eerily calm compared to her previous outburst. "It's those two girls, isn't it? You've replaced me with them already! What do they have that I don't?!" She first whispered before increasing her volume to a full out scream. "If I get rid of them you'll definitely come back to me!"

"Nobody is gonna deny my little girl anything." Butch said. "Once we get all the pokemon from the ranch to the Boss, you kids will make nice examples of what Team Rocket does to meddlers."

"You are not taking any of the pokemon!" Skye finally had enough of the talk and her blood was boiling over like never before. She'd heard plenty of stories about Team Rocket, but seeing it for herself was making her blind with anger. "Those are other people's precious friends and partners." She declared. "I won't forgive you for trying to come between them!"

Charmander was released from his pokeball with a pop. The young fire-type was ready for a battle.

"...I know I promised our first battle would be with Eevee." Skye said quietly to Sam, keeping her eyes squarely on Team Rocket. "I'm sorry."

Sam glanced from her lifelong friend back to the criminals. She then grinned. It wasn't a nice one. She too grabbed a pokeball and released Eevee. "I guess I never said the battle had to be against you."

Billy gaped at the two younger trainers, one of whom was brand new. "You two are insane. Absolutely insane."

Sunnie squealed. "Ooooh, me too! Me too!" She said, personality having taken a complete 180 degree turn. Taking her own pokeball she released a zangoose.

"Raticate, Hypno, take care of them!" Cassidy ordered.

"Ah crap." Billy released Houndour. "Flamethrower, boy!" He said with urgency.

"Charmander, help out with Ember!" Skye yelled.

"Eevee, make some noise! Use Echoed Voice!" Sam exclaimed, knowing exactly what she wanted to do.

Eevee did as well. The attack from the evolution pokemon was louder than Team Rocket or their pokemon had anticipated. It wasn't aimed for them though. It slammed into their vacuum machine and caused a giant rupture. Hundreds of pokeballs came spitting out, covering the floor of the lab.

"You brats!" Butch growled as he and the other two were temporarily drowned in the sea of red and white.

In the distraction, Houndour engaged Zangoose in close quarters. "Metal Claw!" Billy attempted to keep up with the fight, but as the most experienced of the three young trainers his attention was half on the other two in worry.

Being the newest of the three, Skye had her hands full directing Charmander around Raticate. For only having been with each other for a handful of hours, they were doing well to at least keep the giant rat pokemon focused on just them.

Sam meanwhile had much more of a bond with Eevee and let the small pokemon do as he saw fit against Hypno, which was effective enough at the moment. She had another mission in mind as she waded through the sea of pokeballs to the container that housed the remaining two Kanto starters. Taking Bulbasaur's and Squirtle's, she threw one of the pokeballs at Billy. "Catch!" She yelled, the only warning the boy got.

He dutifully did so, but with great confusion. "What am I supposed to do with this?" He exclaimed, pointing to the pokeball with the leaf insignia on it, now in his hands.

"You throw it, genius." She said sarcastically, then turned more serious. "These two are the only ones who don't have registered trainers. I am not giving those goons a legitimate excuse to take them away forever."

As the realization set in that he'd just obtained his second pokemon in the last twelve hours, Billy gave up and just threw it. "Bulbasaur, come on out and help!"

The grass-type looked mightily confused as he blinked awake, then jumped up, wide eyed in panic as he saw the scene.

"Hey little dude, its okay." Billy said in the most calming tone he could muster despite the situation. He looked up briefly to see that Houndour was using a Bite attack to gain the edge in his own battle. "I know this is a little sudden, but I need your help right now. See that Raticate?" The young bulbasaur nodded. "Great, try to wrap him up in a Vine Whip and hold on as tight and as long as you can. Charmander needs a little help."

Now having directions, Bulbasaur seemed much more confident and executed the move perfectly. This gave Charmander a wide open spot for a particularly effective series of Scratch attacks.

"Your turn, Squirtle, go get 'em." Sam released the water type right next to her. This little one seemed a bit more ready for battle. "Give the your best Water Gun right at that Hypno, distract it!"

Eager to please, Squirtle did just that. As Hypno tried to shake it off, Eevee took pleasure in rubbing the advantage in Team Rocket's faces by dancing around in the extra spray.

"Don't give them a break, Eevee." Sam called. "You can Bite too!"

Eevee munched right onto Hypno's arm and it was super effective.

"Don't let up on Raticate, Charmander! You've got him on the ropes! Use Ember again!" Skye directed.

Cassidy growled in anger as she emerged to the surface, seeing their plans ruined and their pokemon nearly tired out. "Sweetheart, deploy plan C and let's get out of here with what we can."

"Totally on it, Cass." Butch seemed to take great pleasure in pressing the large green button on the still largely operational vacuum. Three separate robotic arms came forth and each one grabbed a hold of a kid, lifting the young trainers into the air.

"Yay!" Sunnie said gleefully. "I get my partner back!" Zangoose mirrored her trainer's enthusiasm and finally was able to pin down Houndour.

There were varying degrees of panic, anger, and situational awareness from the kids.

Sam struggled against the machine and began to rant out a string of possible obscenities as she was pulled in closer to the getaway vehicle.

"Why am I the only one upside down?" Billy grumbled, blood rushing to his head a little too quickly and causing his face to turn a little red.

"Because that makes it easier for me to do this!" The younger Rocket girl said with a smile on her face. She gave him a rather generous kiss on the cheek and giggled. "You're blushing."

Horrified and a little bit shell shocked he couldn't come up with an answer right away, he soon realized this would only help to fuel whatever mythos the girl had concerning their apparent relationship.

"Charmander, use Ember and aim for the controls!" Skye shouted, the only one still with presence of mind to keep up the attack even as she struggled to escape herself.

"I wouldn't carry out that attack if I were you." Cassidy said, interrupting Charmander's attack and showing off a remote control. "Otherwise your trainer will get a very nasty shock." To illustrate her point, she pressed a button on the remote.

Instantly an electric attack traveled through the long arms of the robot and caused its three prisoners to scream in pain. A few seconds later it was over. The kids were clearly not unscathed, all three looking a bit out of sorts.

"If you attack, the next one will be longer and more powerful. You wouldn't want to hurt your trainers, would you?" Butch sneered.

Silence soon fell over the battle. The trio from the Oak labs looked downtrodden while Eevee and Houndour grit their teeth in anger, but did not move.

"Good choice." Cassidy turned back to her partner. "We just need to bring the boy back, put the girls in a separate container, we'll drop them off later."

"I'm not going back!" Billy yelled defiantly, shaking off the electricity first. "I'm not going to be a lousy crook!"

"You don't get a choice, brat. No one runs from Team Rocket. There is quite the handsome reward out for your return."

"Too bad you won't get to claim it." Sam said simply, oddly calm from her outburst a few moments before.

"There is no way you kids are getting out of this, we've got this in the bag." Butch smirked, crossing his arms in satisfaction.

"Oh, I never said we were going to get out of this ourselves." She explained. "Our parents might have a different say in it though."

"Hello." Gary said from the doorway, looking tired and incredibly angry. "Get out of my lab. Electivire, greet them with a Thunder Punch."

The beast flew into the air and landed on the getaway vehicle, an electricity-filled fist connecting with the top.

With a giant explosion, the kids were knocked free from their restraints. Billy took first action.

"Bulbasaur, Houndour, come back." As he returned the two to their pokeballs, he glanced over at the girls. "I need to get out of here before those three get their senses back." He said desperately.

Skye did the same for Charmander, eyes full of fire. "Come on, Sam, it's time to start our journey. We need to get Billy as much distance between them and us as we can." She said, running towards the door.

Sam nodded, smiling as she agreed with her younger friend. "Dad should be able to take care of 'em. I've got the perfect idea." She said, soon taking the lead and holding Squirtle and Eevee's full pokeballs close.

"Hey, I never said anything about going with you two!" The boy protested as the three ran outside. "In fact, it's a very bad idea. I don't want you two getting hurt on my account. Sunnie especially is not going to stop looking for me until I join her."

"Safety in numbers." Skye said with an innocent smile, looking back at the older boy. "You're also running along with us." She noted playfully. "And besides, it's what friends do."

Billy gave a half laugh at the irony as the three now ran across the field. "Friends huh? I guess I could do worse."

The three continued to run until Sam led them to an old shed. She immediately got to work on the padlock which held the large barn doors closed.

"Wait, are you picking that lock?" Billy asked, surprised and wondering, not for the first time that summer, what kind of company he had landed himself with.

"Yeah, I don't have the key on me, so this'll have to do." She responded casually, still working away.

"There you are William! I found you!" A sing-song voice pierced the early dawn.

Skye couldn't help but feel the emotions of annoyance and anger seep in at the same time. "How did they catch up to us so fast?"

"Please, we use smoke bombs all the time. No one uses the confusion better than we do. Give yourselves up and hand over your pokemon. We'll be nice and even let you girls go free." Butch said, gesturing for Raticate to move forward menacingly.

"I'm not going back with you! I've got my own dreams to follow and they have nothing to do with you or Team Rocket." Billy declared. Sunnie looked heartbroken at the statement.

"So overly dramatic, just like your loser mother." Cassidy said as she and Butch came over to stand by their daughter. "If we can't get the pokemon we came here for we are at least leaving with you."

"If Billy doesn't want to go back with you, then we won't let you take him either." Skye said, backing her friend up.

"Stall 'em, I need more time with the lock guys." Sam pleaded.

Billy and Skye didn't need to be told twice and both were about to call upon their partner pokemon again. Before either could do so, Billy's backpack started to shake uncontrollably and began to emit a glow from within. "What the..."

Even Team Rocket had to give pause to the new development, the three of them blinking in confusion.

Opening his backpack, the pokemon egg was glowing, almost as if it were reacting to the situation.

Skye looked on in surprise as the egg hatched into a very spunky looking Pichu. "I don't believe it. Dad gave you Pikachu's egg?"

Billy's eyes went wide and his body limp even while Pichu jumped up and clung to his shirt affectionately. "You mean this Pichu is...?" He was then speechless as he let all the facts surrounding the egg to sink in. He had the offspring of Ash Ketchum's pikachu. The same pokemon that his parents had spent nearly their entire adult lives trying to steal.

Billy paled and felt like he was going to be sick. He had come to Pallet Town to get some sense of normalcy to his complicated life. Instead, it had gotten worse.

"It's just one more pokemon to steal!" Sunnie was the first to break out of the stupor, throwing her poke ball. "Zangoose, let's get my partner and his cute new pokemon too!"

Butch and Cassidy also released Hypno and Raticate, feeling proud to let their own kid take the lead on this mission.

Pichu did not look happy gazing around to the scene she had been born in the middle of. Something in her genetic memory told her that these goons in black were bad guys and needed to go. She jumped down off her new trainer and onto the grass, looking back at him. "Pi-pichu pi!" She said, pointing at the Rocket group.

Billy blinked. "You...you just hatched and you want to battle?" He sighed. "You know what, considering who your sire is, this might actually work. What attacks do you know?"

Electricity surrounded the newborn pokemon as she rushed what looked like a Quick Attack on Team Rocket. This left Butch, Cassidy and Sunnie the kid completely burnt to a crisp.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Skye exclaimed helpfully with a smile. "Volt Tackle is one of Pichu's egg moves!"

"I am apparently not allowed to have a normal life." Billy said, utterly defeated emotionally.

"Ah ha! Got it guys. Lets go!" Sam dropped the lock to the ground and pushed the barn door open enough so that they could all get through. Pichu followed and jumped up on Billy's shoulder, the boy closing the doors behind them.

Inside the shed was a classic beyond classic. A bright red convertible, freshly painted and not a dent on it.

"No." Billy breathed, panic written in his eyes. He knew this car. "Your dad will kill us."

"Do you see any other vehicle close by that we can use to get away quickly?" Sam challenged, taking the keys off a nearby shelf and starting the car. "We'll just leave it in Viridian City once we get there. Dad can pick it up later."

"I also think this is a really bad idea." Skye said, offering her two cents. She also knew how valuable this car was to Gary Oak. With the chase that was about to occur she just knew something bad was going to happen.

They soon didn't have much choice as a Hyper Fang and Furry Swipes starting knocking on the large doors. Skye and Billy dutifully got in and buckled up.

XXXXX

Ash yawned as he blearily walked his way towards Professor Oak's lab, watching the sun peek over the horizon. Pikachu had the benefit of continuing to sleep in his trainer's arms. Upon waking up early to make a large breakfast, his mother had discovered her missing grandchild, so Ash was recruited to go find her.

He knew where she was, of course. It was exactly where he'd have been if he had woken up early for his journey.

The smoke coming from the back of the lab though, that was new.

"Pikachu, is that what I think it is?" He asked, blinking and wondering if he was seeing things correctly.

Pikachu sniffed at the air, and then suddenly was fully awake and alarmed. He jumped out of his trainer's arms and started running towards it.

Ash got a slight sense of panic and rushed off after him, unsure if his daughter was involved or not. Years of running into trouble of just this sort though, told him he needed to get there as soon as possible.

As he got close he saw Gary and Electivire just arriving from the direction of the lab and engaging in their initial attack on Hypno. He and Pikachu also caught sight of the very familiar villains.

"Team Rocket, I should have known you'd show your faces eventually!" He yelled. "Pikachu, give 'em a Thunder!" He was not messing around this morning of all mornings.

The electric attack rained down, but it had done nothing. The youngest in uniform gave the on and off again Frontier Brain a stuck out tongue.

Gary glared at his friend. "The kids are holed up in the shed. Team Rocket here tried to steal all the pokemon in the lab this morning, probably wanted to use the tauros as a distraction." He paused. "Oh, and they also have insulated uniforms. Use something other than electric attacks."

Ash peered closer, not as much concerned with attacking at the moment and more trying to figure something out. "I recognize Cassidy and Batch, but you I don't know." He said casually.

"It. Is. BUTCH!"

"I'm Sunnie." The girl replied cheerfully. "I know you. You're the part-timer Frontier Brain. Ms. Jessie and Mr. James REALLY want your pikachu."

Gary snorted. Ash gave him a sideways glare and frowned. "When you put it that way it makes me sound like a bum."

The revving of an engine got everyone's attention and suddenly Raticate and Zangoose were knocked aside as the large shed door came crashing apart.

Gary's eyes went wide. "That's my car! What are you doing with my car?!"

"Sorry Professor Oak, we've got to borrow this for a little bit!" Skye yelled from the back seat as Sam drifted the convertible skilfully towards the road. Billy held Pichu in a death grip with one arm and the side door with the other in complete terror. "We promise we'll give it back when we're done!"

"Hurry! We have to go after them! I need my partner!" Team Rocket promptly returned their pokemon, ignoring the young professor and career battler.

Sam grinned and quickly looked back at Team Rocket. "Later losers!" She yelled as she straightened the car onto the road.

From beyond the treeline a hovercraft sped towards the gathering and Team Rocket jumped in, steering it to follow the car, fully intending to do so at all costs.

"That car is a classic! You can't just go driving it anywhere!" Gary said, about to hyperventilate.

Ash wanted to correct Gary as he recognized it as the same vehicle that had carried the Oak through his Kanto journey when the two of them had been ten. Instead he found himself lost in the situation, soaking it in and coming to a different train of thought.

That car was carrying his daughter off on her very first pokemon journey. He likely wasn't going to see her again until the Indigo Conference. They weren't going to get that long awkward hug goodbye and he wasn't going to impart any of that last minute sagely advice he'd been brainstorming for the last twelve years. He only had time to say one thing.

"Skye!" He yelled, cupping his hands to his mouth. "Whatever you decide to do, go be the best there ever was!"

As the car drove further away, he saw his daughter smile and give him a thumbs up in confirmation.

While Gary ran futilely after his precious car, a sense of peace washed over the trainer and proud father. Pikachu now looked on humorously over his shoulder as the two shared a secret smile. They weren't concerned in the least about the Team Rocket situation. They both knew the kids would be just fine.

"You'll keep an eye on her right? And her friends?" He then said to no one in particular.

A shimmer in the space next to him revealed a humanoid pokemon where previously there had been nothing.

" _As often as I can spare them, Ash_." Mewtwo said telepathically, watching the two vehicles now disappear past the horizon of Route 1. The pokemon smiled at the human. " _That is what friends are for, after all_." He then turned serious. " _Do not destroy my room while I am gone_."

Ash put his hands up in defense. Pikachu pointedly looked away, embarrassed. "I promise your television set will be intact when you come back to Cerulean Cave." He said, with a little too much familiarity on the problem.

Mewtwo nodded. " _Good. I need a vacation. A trip following your daughter should suffice if she does half of the interesting things you did_."

Ash wasn't sure if the legendary pokemon was making fun of him or not. "Just make sure she stays out of trouble for me? If she does do half the things I did, I worry for her even more." He said with a helpless shrug.

" _From my perspective, it is a little too late for that. I will, however, mitigate it when possible_." The pokemon, and once trainer, offered.

Ash smiled, that was good enough. "Thanks again, Mewtwo. You enjoy your trip too."

A nod was all the goodbye the two received before Mewtwo disappeared from sight.

Ash smiled and looked back over at Pikachu. "Well, Bud, what do you say we go back to Mom's and see what's for breakfast? After that we can call Misty and rub it in her face that we know what Skye's first pokemon is."

"Pikapi pikachu…." The electric mouse said dryly in warning. Starting petty arguments with Misty was still a terrible idea that Ash never had grown out of.

The trainer rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, fine. But breakfast is still a good idea, right?"

"Pi-ka!"

Agreement reached, the two strode back down the hill towards Ash's childhood home.

Surrounded by good friends, chased by Team Rocket, and watched over by legendary pokemon; Ash was confident the formula that had worked for him would help his daughter grow into a well rounded human being. She would be able to do whatever she wanted with her life.

As her father and fellow trainer, that was all he could ever ask for.

XXXXX

 **Author's Notes** : The last scene with Ash and Mewtwo was the start to this story. Everything else was concocted to make it fit and play on whatever irony/funny I could remember.

And yes, Pichu does destroy the car before Viridian City.

Please review if you feel so moved. I always appreciate constructive criticism as there are inevitably things that I missed while proofreading. I also like to nerd out and do the fangirling thing, reviews help that.

Thanks for reading.


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